Brandeis (6-12, 3-6 UAA) matched their overall and conference win total from a year ago by placing five players in double figures. Senior center Bryan Lambert (Auburn, Maine) led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth consecutive double-double. Lambert’s final rebound of the game was the 500th of his career. Also scoring in double figures were senior forward Ben Bosanac (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) who had 15 points and classmate Greg Kristof (Medfield, Mass.) who had 14. Both players hit on four-of-six from 3-point range. Junior guard Omri Ayalon (Potsdam, N.Y.) added three trifectas for 12 points, while junior guard Stu Pradia (Houston, Texas) had 10 points and a game-high seven assists. With the victory, Brandeis has won three straight UAA games for the first time since 1995-96.
Case Western Reserve (4-16, 2-7 UAA) was paced by sophomore forward Carson Oren (South Bend, Ind.), who led all players with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Andrew Impastato (Freehold, N.J.) had 11 points and classmate Funso Lafe (Chesterland, Ohio) had 10. No other Case player had more than eight points or four rebounds. Junior center Dave Lenzer (No. Canton, Ohio) led the Spartans with three assists.
In the first half, CWRU led by as many as 10 points at 28-18 with 6:35 left in the stanza on a lay-up by junior Isaac White (Baltimore, Md.). The Judges answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Kristof and Ayalon and eventually tied the game at 38-38 when Bosanac hit from beyond the arc with 1:03 on the clock. The Spartans scored the final three points of the half to take a 41-38 lead into the locker room. Oren led all players with 18 points and nine boards at the break, but the Judges’ nine-of-15 shooting from long distance in the half kept them close.
A 9-4 run over the first 3:12 of the second half gave Brandeis a 47-45 advantage. The lead then changed hands nine times over the next 12 minutes as the teams traded baskets. CWRU broke the string by scoring back-to-back hoops around the six-minute mark, taking a 65-62 lead when senior Jacob Baker (Orrville, Ohio) stole the ball and fed a streaking Lafe with 5:39 on the clock. The Judges responded by making a big run, outscoring Case 17-2 over the next four-and-a-half minutes and holding the Spartans without a field goal over that span to grab a 79-67 lead on two free throws by Lambert. A pair of trifectas from Case reserve guard Richard Mullen (Columbus, Ohio) cut the lead under 10 twice in the final minute, but the Judges hit seven-of-nine free throws down the stretch to ice the game.